Whether you’re enrolled in distance learning or a brick-and-mortar school, plagiarism is rarely tolerated. If caught, you could fail the class, get suspended, or be expelled. To avoid the problem, always give credit when and where it is due. It’s not that difficult, if you follow these guidelines:

To avoid any copyright infringement, always acknowledge the source of any thoughts that are not entirely your own.

Use the appropriate citation style whenever you do cite the work of others. If you don’t understand whether you should cite something using APA or MLA or some other style, get help from your instructor.

When it doubt, cite a source. Is the idea original? Is the sentiment you’re conveying a common one? Are you using your voice to communicate other people’s ideas? If so, be safe and cite.

Still confused? Let your instructor help. Like anything else, learning when to cite and when it isn’t necessary is a learning process. And what better way is there to learn than by asking someone who already knows?